SteamWorld Build game director on making a city sim & the series' future

The SteamWorld franchise has taken many forms over the years. And now it’s looking to take on yet another form with the impending launch of SteamWorld Build, an upcoming city sim from the fine people at Thunderful. Back during GDC 2023, we had a chance to catch up with Build’s game director Andreas Persson to find out why the team decided to make a city building and what could be coming next for the franchise.

As to what could be on the horizon, “I think SteamWorld lends itself to experimentation and there’s just fun in trying new things.” said Persson during the interview. He also digs into how the game’s unique mining mechanics keep the game at a more engaging pace than many building games and of course, there’s some discussion of the robotic, steampunk aesthetic. They then go on to chat about what could be next for the SteamWorld universe. You can check out the entire conversation in the embedded video below.

As of right now, SteamWorld Build is set to hit PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch sometime in 2023, but does not have an official release date yet. For more details on SteamWorld Build, be sure to check out our hands-on preview. And you can catch up on all of our latest interviews and exclusive content over on our GamerHubTV and Shacknews YouTube channels.

Blake Morse

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Blake has been writing and making videos about pop-culture and games for over 10 years now. Although he'd probably prefer you thought of him as a musician and listened to his band, www.cartoonviolencemusic.com. If you see him on the street, buy him a taco or something. Follow him on twitter @ProfRobot